437 flood insurance claims·$6.2M paid·6 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from slow-moving summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Armstrong County, PA, accounting for 51 out of 82 total flood events recorded over the last 30 years, alongside 31 general flood events.
Recent weather patterns illustrate this hazard. On May 4, 2025, an upper-level low-pressure system generated slow-moving storms that resulted in several reports of flash flooding across the region. Later that season, on June 15, 2025, a stationary boundary combined with high precipitable water and weak steering flow caused storms to train over the same areas, producing rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches in as little as an hour.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that property damage is not restricted to designated high-risk areas. While Zone A properties filed the highest number of claims at 260 with an average payout of $16,323 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches, Zone X properties also experienced significant impacts, logging 88 claims with an average payout of $25,101 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Additionally, Zone X_UNSHADED properties recorded an average water depth of 13 inches across 21 claims, with an average payout of $22,298. Homeowners and real estate agents in both designated special flood hazard areas and moderate-to-low risk zones should pay close attention to these historical claim patterns when evaluating property risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Armstrong County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
284 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 8 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2004, with 146 claims and $2.3M paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances and Tropical Depression Ivan.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
42 NOAA storm reports from Armstrong County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Pennsylvania flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides | Jun 23, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Tropical Depression Ivan | Sep 17, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances | Sep 8, 2004 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jul 19, 1996 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jan 19, 1996 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
82 since 1996: 51 flash floods and 31 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 4, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Apr 12, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 3, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 2, 2024 | $1,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 15, 2025. Stationary boundary and near climatological max precpitable water led to another round of showers and thunderstorms with very heavy rainfall on the 15th. With weak steering flow, storms were allowed to train over one another, producing rainfall amounts in the 2-4 inches range in as little as an hour.
Flash Flood · May 4, 2025. Upper level low pressure was situated over the Middle Ohio Valley on May 4th. Spokes of mid-level vorticity rotating around the low supported the development of showers and thunderstorms. Although most of the activity remained sub-severe, there was one strong storm that generated a number of large hail reports between one and 2.5 inches in diameter, particularly in Indiana County. Later in the evening, additional…
Flash Flood · Jul 1, 2025. A mid-level trough, embedded shortwaves, and jet exit region dynamics provided necessary lift within an environment characterized by 1.7-1.9 precipitable water values to produce heavy, slow moving showers and thunderstorms that resulted in instances of flash flooding across western Pennsylvania.
Flood · Apr 12, 2024. A strong mid-level trough and an associated frontal zone crossed through the|Mid-South and took aim on the OH Valley. Strong forcing associated the energy aloft coupled with a gradually destabilizing boundary layer out ahead it set the stage for areas of locally heavy showers and thunderstorms for several hours and prompted dangerous flash flooding. A flash flood emergency was issued for portions of Allegheny Coun…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Armstrong County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.